Hello! You’re getting the email because you’ve either (1) joined The Mighty Minds Club, (YAY!!) or (2) asked to be notified about The Might Minds Club at launch.

This is the 15th ever Mighty Minds newsletter. Keeping things even shorter this week!

Only 1️⃣ Mighty Minds update this week:

📆 THIS WEDNESDAY: AMA with Christina Wodtke!

This week, we'll be hosting Christina Wodtke, for a a discussion on… well… whatever comes up! Christina is:

• a professor at Stanford University
• author of several books, including Radical Focus, Pencil Me In , and most recently, The Team That Managed Itself
• an information architecture pioneer
• a leadership development coach with over 20 years of experience that has included past work with LinkedIn, MySpace, Zynga, Yahoo! as well as founding 3 startups
• an all around amazing human being!

Our conversations are always a delight and span all manner of topics, from game design to storytelling to OKRs… teams, visual thinking, and more! And I always learn something new from our chats.

While this will be much more of a conversation, I have asked Christina to share a few "simple tools for complex problems" 😉. Again, don't forget to register.

Interesting things I’ve been reading / learning about:

On Flipping the Myths

I ♥️ these flip cards from Alastair Somerville. So brilliant, and simple.

Here's a short explanation (and a great roundup of books!!) over on Medium: "Do not write off human centred design before it has started."

On Team Prompts

I'm also digging these team prompts on everything from decision making to retros. In my own work, I've found these kinds of mad-libs statements to provide just enough structure to facilitate some great thinking and dialogue. Speaking of the mad-libs style prompts, here's one from Christina Wodtke, about goals! (PLUG: You should come to this week's MM Salon and ask her about this prompt!)

On Positive Futures

So… In my epic Euro IA talk, there was a bit where a discussed the importance of positive futures. Well, here's another take on this issue: None other than Cory Doctorow talking about the danger of cynical science fiction. (It's a really good, not too long, read!)

On Wardley Mapping.

Still figuring out what's up with Wardley Mapping? Here's a really great, concise, explanation of "How to run a Wardley Map workshop" from Charles Burdett (creator of the Workshop Tactics deck). Oh, and, Wardley Maps now have their own wiki: Hello, WardleyPedia!

"Six Things I Found Personally Relevant"

As I'm wrestling with what's next for me, each of these articles/threads resonated with me in some way (I'll let you connect the dots). Maybe you'll also find them personal relevant?

1. I felt called out by "Time Confetti and the Broken Promise of Leisure."
2. "How to Learn: Lifelong Learning" is a good reminder of things you may already know, though I did pick up the phrase "sell your sawdust."
3. After reading this tweet thread, about finding your signature move, I found myself hoping for someone who could do the same for my career!
4. I'm really intrigued by this idea of the personal conglomerate. As someone who has never fit into a box, maybe this exercise will help?
5. I've only had a chance to scan this report on burnout, but it (and the suggested frameworks) look like a really amazing read. Check it out: The "Emotional Resilience In Leadership Report 2020 ."
6. I've been thinking a lot about "building once, and selling twice," with regards to my 'things to think with' toolkits, deep dives, and online courses.

Personal Musings

I’ll be stepping away from this newsletter for the next 2-3 weeks to focus on other things (What things?! See below!). Look for the next update in early November. With a revamped format. And maybe from a different email provider. 🤞

So what am I working on?

• As you know from previous newsletters, I'm rethinking what’s next for The Mighty Minds Club and planning another slate of upcoming Salons.

I'm also…

🥁

• Working on a Kickstarter campaign for the 10th anniversary reprint of the Mental Notes Card Deck!! (No, for real. After years of "someday soon" I'm planning to launch something mid-Nov.)

🎉🎉🎉

• Researching polarity mapping thinking. 👀

• On a more personal (professional) note: I'm not very good at the self-promotion thing. But, if you know of anyone looking for training / facilitation services, or planning their 2021 training budget—here’s a doc I pulled together that outlines specific workshops I'm offering (and you can also direct people to my website). THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

Finally…

If you find yourself yearning for more of my personal musings while I step away from this newsletter, be sure to check out the transcript of my Euro IA 2020 keynote Hopeful and Powerless? Design in a Crisis. There's at least a dozen newsletters worth of personal musings in there! And don't forget to leave comments and feedback.

🎙 Oh, and… I recently appeared on two podcasts, to discuss Figure It Out, (among other things): Here I am on the UI Breakfast Podcast, and here I am, along with my co-author Karl, on the Human Tech podcast.

Random

🤖 Robots falling down
😱 Dr. Seuss Horror Style
🍃 But… they look so much like leaves!
🐼 a panda munching on bamboo
🚪 Is the door upside down?
♥️ Mr. Rogers at the 1997 Emmys

Quote of the Week

"Everyone fails at who they are supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are." —Frigga